Paper-making machinery



Feb. 3, 1931. D. L. SHEAFOR 1,791,384

PAPER MAKING MACHINERY Filed Sept. 14, 1925 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Feb. 3,1931.SHEAFQR I I 1,791,384

PAPER MAKING MACHINERY Filed Sept. 14, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 o o m E; m0 ia o o I 0o 0 I 3% L i 3 0) j g u E I i of M E u attouwqa PatentedFeb. 3, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DEE L. amoa, or pmcaao,ILLmoIs, assreuon TO THE iamcx-omwson cola- PANY, or HAMILTON, OHIO, ACORPORATION or OHIO rArim-mxmo maximum? Application filed September 14,1925. Serial No. 56,258.

The present invention relates to paper making machinery, andparticularly thepress part of the paper making machlnery which includesa traveling felt upon which the newly-formed sheet of paper is receivedfor treatment.

One of the principal objects ofthe invention is to provide means fortreating or washing the traveling felt of such a machine whereby toincrease the life thereof as well as to improve the quality of the papertreated thereon. v

Other objects of the invention will be apparent from the followingdescription when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings inwhich: i

Fig. l is: a side elevation of a paper making machine embodying thepresent invention, parts thereof being illustrated some-whatdiagrammatically to more clearly illustrate tion face in any de'slredmanner, the purpose the invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of Fig. 1', certain parts being broken away oromitted for clearness in illustration; and

Fig. 3 is a section-on the line 33 of Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawings, 20 denotes the traveling felt of the papermaking machine which felt is formed as acontinuous belt and travels inthe direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1. The traveling felt maybe guided in its movement by a series of guide rolls, two of which areillustrated at 21 and 22, these guide rolls being journaled upon thestands 26 and 27 forming. part of the frame work of the paper makingmachine. It will be understood that in the normal operation of themachine the newly formed paper is transferred to the surface of thetraveling felt which latter carries the paper through a series ofpressure rolls which are arranged in pairs, the purpose of thisoperation being to compact the paper or to compact and dry the same. Theupper and lower rolls of a pair of pressure rolls are indicated at 23and 24, respectively, in Fig. 1, and it will be understood that the pairof pressure rolls illustrated are the last of a series of pairs throughwhich the paper passes before it is removed from the traveling felt 20.

Secured to the stands 26 and 27 by means of brackets 30 and 31 are apair of supporting or guide rods 32 and 33 which extend in a generallyhorizontal direction across the end of the frame work carrying thetraveling felt.

. Slidably mounted upon the guide rods 32 and 33 is an elongated suctionbox 34: having its long axis disposed transverse to the direction oftravel of the felt and having one face thereof so disposed withreference to the traveling felt 20 that the latter passes overthesurface of the suction box in traveling from the guide roll 21 to theguide roll 22. The suction face of the suction box which is adapted tolie I from the felt by suction the cleaning fluid which is applied tothe felt in the manner which will be hereinafter described. The

suction box is connected by means of the suction pipe 37 with a'vacuumpump or suction producing means of any desired or usual coristruction.

Mounted upon the suction box is what may be termed a shower, whichconsists of a shower pipe 40disposedapproximately parof the suctionopenings being to withdraw allel with the surface of the traveling'felt,

and having therein a series of apertures 41 through which water or anyother suitable cleaning fluid may be discharged upon the traveling feltjust before the latter passes over the suction box 34. The pipe 40 isconnected through flexible conduit 42 with a source of water or cleaningfluid supply, and as shown is arranged to discharge water against thatsurface of the felt which subse quently passes over the suction box.

The discharge of the cleaning fluid upon the traveling felt by theshower 40- and the subsequent suction action of the suction box 34: asthe felt passes over its suction face serves to wash and-recondition thefelt, but as the suction box covers but a fraction of the width of thetraveling felt, the washing and of the traveling felt to the other, andthen returned to its original position, thisreciprocatingmotion ortravel of the-suction' 'box being preferably continuous so long as the Vfelt is in motion. I

. power.

I lars 66 and 67 secured thereon.

' box 34 and movable therewith.

The means for reciprocating the' suction box 34 includes a screwthreadedshaft 45 journaled for rotation in the brackets 30 and 31 this I shaftbeing extended beyond the bracket 30 and having its-extended endjournaled at 46 upon an outboard standard 48. The screw threaded shaftcooperates with an apertured and screw'threaded block 49 carried by thesuctionbox 34, the arrangement being such that when the shaft 45 is rotate'd in one direction the suction box is caused to move from left toright, as viewed in Fig. 2, across the surface of the traveling felt,and

when rotated in the opposite direction, the,

suction box is caused to move from right ,to

it vThe endwise thrust upon the shaft 45 may be taken up by thrustbearing 50.

Mounted upon the shaft'45 between the stand 26 and the outboard standard48 is a series of pulleys 52, 53, and 54, the pulley 52 being fixed ornon-rotatably keyed upon the shaft 45, and the pulleys 53 and 54disposed on either side thereof being loosely mounted upon the shaft 45,so as to freely rotate thereon independently of the shaft. The loosepulleys 53 and 54 normally carry upon their surfaces the oppositelymoving driving members or belts 55 and 56 which belts pass over thedriving pulley 57 formed on the driving shaft of the pressure roll 24,although it will be understood that the belts 55 and 56 may be drivenfrom any other suitable source of The belt 55 is crossed so that itcauses rotation of the loose pulley 53v in one direction, as indicatedby the arrow in Fig. 2, whereas the-driving belt 56 causes rotation ofthe loose pulley '54 in an opposite direction, as also indicated by anarrow in Fig. -2.

The reversal of movement of the screw threaded shaft 45 is accomplishedby shifting either of the belts 55 and 56 on to the fixed pulley. 52,and such shifting may be accomplished by the shifting means which willnow be described; A shifting lever 60 pivoted upon bracket 30, at 61 isconnected at one end with rod 62, having the loops 63 and 64 surroundingthebelts, and at its other end with shift rod 65 having adjustableshifting col I These adjustable collars 66 and 67 lie in the path of thestop lugs 68 and 69 carried by the suction In Fig. 2 the driving belt 56is shown as connected with the fixed pulley 52 and the suction box isbeing moved to the left. When the suction box is opposite the left handedge of the traveling felt the lug 68 engages the collar 66 and movesthe shift rod 65 to the left, therebyshifting belt 56 to the loosepulley 54 and shifting belt 55 to the fixed pulley 52. The screwthreaded shaft 45 now rotates'in' an opposite direction and the suctionbox is caused to move towards the right until the lug 69 strikes thecollar 67 when the shifting means is again actuated to reverse themovement of the suction box. To prevent any accidental shifting of thebelts 55 and 56 and to render more positiveshifting action, the lever 60is provided with an arm 70 which is adapted to engage the spring-pressedslidable plunger 71 mounted upon the bracket 30. The arrangement is suchthat during the initial movement of the shift lever 60, the. arm 70rides up on the inclined surface of the spring-pressed plunger -71 todepress the latter, but as soon as the arm 70 moves past the center ofthe springtion box 34 and shower means 40 are moved back and forthacross the surface ofthe traveling felt, from one edge to the other, asalready described. During this movement thev cleaning fluid which issupplied through the'pipe 40 is showered upon the traveling felt and asthe felt moves over the suction surface of the suction box 34, thesuction action of the latter draws the cleaning fluid out of'the felttogether with any foreign matter which the cleaning fluid may have takenup in its passage through the felt. Any suitable cleaning fluid may beused, but I prefer to usecold water although it may sometimes bedesirable to use warm water or to dissolve cleaning chemicals thereinfor the purpose of removing oil or similar foreign matter whlch may notbe readily removable by the of the jets against the felt, or otherwise,

Obvisuction box 34', and the shape of the suction openings may be alsovaried widely to secure the desired results, and these may dependsomewhat upon the: mode of application of the cleanin fluid :as well asupon the speed of travel '0 the felt and of the suction qbox. Thus, ifthe cleaning fluid is applied to the felt in a superficial manner,thesuction pressure or vacuum neednot be as great as otherwise in ordertoremove the cleaning fluid from the felt in its passage over thesuction box. Through the control" of'the mode of application and theprps'sures of the clean? ing fluid and of the suction pressures, I amenabled to wash. oi'recondition the felt to any extent desired. A-lightor superficial application of cleaning fluid may beemployed to clean thesurface of the felt, or the cleaning fluid may be projected into orsubstantially through the body of the felt and then drawn out again bythe suction box whereby the entire body of the feltis washed andreconditioned.

The washing of the felt in accordance with the present invention servesto maintain the felt 1n a porous condltlon and at a uniform thiclmess,thereby-avoiding the gradual com- "pacting of the felt, due to thepressure of the pressure rolls, the consequent variations in pressure ofthe rolls upon the paper and in the quality of the paper which followsfrom such variations in the pressure of the rolls,

and the necessityfor continually readjusting the pressure of the rollstocompensate for such compacting of the felt. .The high porosity of thefelt enables the press to be operated at a uniformly high pressure, thuseffecting a more thorough absorption of moisture from the paper. IAnother'advantage of the present invention is that, besides improvingthe quality and uniformity of the pa er, it increases the'life of thefelt and t ereby eliminates to-a large extent shutting down the pressfor the purpose of washing or of the press.

changing the felt, thus' avoiding the well' known losses incid to j the'shutting down It is to be observed that the present invention provides afelt-washing unit which. may be readily applied to a press. As hereinillustrated it is positioned between the guide rolls 21 and 22 at theend of the press and operates upon a portion of the felt which is movingin a generally vertical or upright direction,;and being at the end ofthe press, the Washing apparatus is readily accessible for the purposeof inspection, readjustment, or repair. 7

While the form of apparatus herein de scribed constitutes-a preferredembodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that the inventionis not limited to this precise form of apparatus, and that changes maybe made therein without departing from the scope of v .suction box andin advance of and adjacent to said suction box and on the exteriorthere- .of, and in spaced relation to said felt to dis charge a fluidspray against said felt in advance of said suction box, and means formoving said suction box and spray pipe transversely across the saidtraveling felt.

2. In a paper making machine, or the like, having a traveling felt,press rolls, and guide rolls; a felt conditioner comprising a suctionbox having'a face with a plurality of perforations therein forming asuction zone, means for supporting said suction box with said perforatedface in suction relationship with the surface of the traveling felt, aspray pipe carried b the forward end of said suction box on the exteriorthereof, said pipe having a plurality of perforations therein'positioned inspaced relation to said felt to discharge a water sprayagainst said felt in advance of the face of said suction box and over aportion of the felt commensurate with the width of said suction zone,and means for moving said suction box and spray pipe carried therebytransversely across the said traveling felt. I

3. In a paper making machine, having a traveling felt, press rolls, andguide rolls; a suction box having a suction opening therein, spacedcross-rods upon which said suction box. is slidably mounted forreciprocating movement thereon, a transversely disposed shaft having"screw-threaded engagement with said suction box, a spray pipe carried bysaid suction box on the exterior thereofin opposite directions to give areciprocating movement to said suction box and spray pipe.

4. The methodof reconditioning an endless transporting felt of a papermaking machine which comprises impinging'a et of water of substantialvelocity upon the felt over a portion of the Width thereof while freelyexposing it to atmosphere, to thereby dislodge material and move threadsof the felt in one direction by the force of the jet, im-

, mediately thereafter subjecting this portion of the width of the feltto suction on the same side of the felt as the jet, to thereby Withdrawwater and dislodge material and pull threads of the felt in the oppositedirection by the suction effect, andconcomitantly reciprocating both thewater jet and the suction zone back and forth transversely of themovement of the felt to effect reconditioning of'the desired width ofthe felt.

In testimonywhereof I hereto affix my signature.

DEE L. SHEAFOR.

